SKER’s Jo Griffith Research Initiative
She continued advocating for everything she loved until the end and now her legacy will live on forever.
Continuing a legacy
On 1 February 2022 the wildlife world lost one of its biggest advocates. To honour the life’s work and passion of Dr Joanna Griffith, SKER developed a research initiative to keep her aspirations alive.
In September 2018 Jo was diagnosed with a potentially curable cancer that then turned into stage 4 breast cancer in June 2020. Despite this tragic diagnosis it did not stop Jo making significant contributions to wildlife. Jo still volunteered many hours of her time away from her family to triage and treat burnt koalas in the Adelaide Hills and Victorian bushfires. During this time Jo was also campaigning the Veterinary Board of SA to improve the governance and welfare of all veterinarians in SA.
In our final visit to say goodbye to Jo, we proposed our plan to develop a koala research initiative in her honour. The smile on her face was more than enough to energise us to put this promise into action.
Image: In Jo’s final days we were able to borrow a captive bred koala “Kev” from a local sanctuary to give her this very special moment. Her love for koalas was undeniable.
Research for Jo
The Joanna Griffith Research Initiative see’s SKER support and develop research across Australia for the betterment of Australian native species with a focus on koalas and echidnas.
You don’t need to dig far into koala research to start noticing Jo’s name as a published author, reviewer and reference. In her final weeks Jo was desperately trying to finish writing an article about one of SKER’s most heart breaking cases. Unfortunately the cancer started to take hold before Jo was finished. In true Jo style she made sure this work was handed over to her trusted colleague to complete. We hope to see Jo’s final work published soon.
Through our established relationships with various universities, SKER supports ethically approved koala research projects by gathering samples and data to provide greater supporting evidence to these projects. The long-term goal of the initiative is to establish a volunteer team of veterinarians and veterinary scientists to undertake and publish our own research funded by SKER and its supporters.
Image: This beautiful mother and joey were attacked by a swarm of bees. Despite our vets’ best efforts, devastatingly we lost them both. Jo started writing a paper on this unusual case in her final days and one day we hope to finish this for her.
Honouring a Great Mentor
Jo become a trusted and valuable member of the wildlife rescue and rehabilitation community in SA through her work as a veterinarian, educator, research and committee member of wildlife associations such as the Wildlife Disease Association. Jo was an advocate for our koalas in every sense.
SKER Founding Director Mish quickly got to know Jo on a personal level through her volunteer work with koalas, from which a trusted friendship and mentorship blossomed. Jo was dedicated to imparting knowledge to those interested in entering wildlife rehabilitation. In continuing Jo’s passion, SKER made a decision to become the 2022 Gold Sponsors of the Wildlife and Exotics Special Interest Group (WESIG) at the University of Adelaide in an effort to support the future generation of wildlife veterinarians, technicians and animal scientists.
Image: Dr Jo facilitated a teaching day with our network of vets to pass on her years of knowledge and skill. Sadly many koalas we rescue don’t survive their injuries/illnesses but that doesn’t mean their lives our completely lost. We collect samples for university studies and utlilise cadaver’s for vital teaching days such as the one pictured here.